The pregnancy hormone can be measured using urine in the home pregnancy test that can be purchased at the pharmacy and used from the first day of menstrual delay.

The first symptoms of pregnancy can be interpreted as premenstrual discomfort. The most reliable indicator is the absence of menstruation (only in women who have a normal and regular cycle). This absence of menstruation is what usually leads to home pregnancy tests.

Pregnancy tests

Pregnancy hormone can be measured through urine using:

• Home pregnancy test that can be purchased at the pharmacy and used from the first day of menstrual delay.

• Examination of urine in the laboratory that can be performed from the 7th to the 10th day after the probable conception. The exam is performed by a professional.

If the home test is positive (+) there is no doubt about the pregnancy, because there are no false-positive results. On the contrary, if it is negative (-) and the menstrual delay continues, the test must be repeated 5 days later, as the amount of hormone produced may be less than the level needed to activate the reactive.

If at the end of that time the test is still negative (-) it may be that you are not pregnant and that your delay is due to other reasons.

Regarding the urine test, it is recommended to call the laboratory one day in advance to ask if there is any special indication for performing the analysis.

Signs of pregnancy

The rest of the pregnancy malaise may be present from the fourth week onwards or may simply not appear. The most important to take into account are some symptoms that, if they occur, require an appointment with the doctor urgently:

• Pelvic pain

• Genital bleeding

• Swelling in the hands, feet, or face

• Vomiting that is repeated continuously throughout the day without ceasing.

Remember that you can no longer smoke and it is recommended that you do not drink alcohol. Consult your doctor about any medications you are taking as some may be harmful to your pregnancy. If you were not getting folic acid, you should start taking it at recommended doses of 500 micrograms per day. Other normal symptoms that you may experience during pregnancy are:

• Tiredness and changes in mood

• Slightly larger and more sensitive breasts

• Feeling of heaviness in the pelvic area

• Willingness to urinate more often

Your baby

Her pregnancy is still microscopic and cannot be revealed by ultrasound, even though the thickening of the uterus wall can already be detected. Two weeks after fertilization, your baby is officially an embryo. Later this week, the embryo will develop an amniotic sac.

The placenta that will nourish you until your birth will begin to form and your baby’s facial features will become more visible. The magical beating of your heart will also appear if you have not already done so.

We try to inform as precisely as possible, but taking into account that the rates of growth and development of pregnancy are occasionally different for each woman, we recommend that you read the exact week of your pregnancy, also the week before and the week after. If in doubt, do not hesitate to contact your doctor.

Am I pregnant even when the pharmacy test shows a very weak line?

The home pregnancy test offers very reliable results, especially when it is positive.

However, sometimes nervousness or anxiety generates doubts when interpreting a result: “This color is so light, am I pregnant or not?”.

Perhaps you are having these or similar questions. So it is good to clarify some points.

To know when to take a test:

In general, the positive result appears in the first 5 minutes of the test, however, sometimes it is necessary to wait up to 30 minutes. Once the positive result is obtained, there is no possibility of change. It is also not possible for the negative result to become positive after 30 minutes.

and notice that the color of the result is weak, it is because you have a smaller amount of the hormone hCG, but the result is still positive. If you want to be sure, the test can be performed again after a week and the color should be stronger due to the increase of this hormone in your urine.

How about doing a blood test to confirm the pharmacy test result?

If you have any suspicion that you are pregnant, it is best that you have an exam to prove it. They are very simple and can be done with blood or urine. In both cases, the test consists of detecting the existence of a hormone called Chorionic Gonadotrophic (hCG), produced by your body since fertilization.

The pharmacy test This is a simple device for analyzing urine. It can be used since approximately the second day of menstruation delay. This type of test is very reliable when and when used correctly, so it is important that you read the instructions carefully and follow them to the letter.

Once the test is performed, you can get two results:

• Positive result: it means that you are pregnant, as the test is very assertive in these cases. However, you must tell your doctor to confirm the pregnancy using a laboratory test.

• Negative result: if you continue to have doubts, it is recommended that you do the test again in a few days or consult your doctor;

It is possible that, when performing the test, you had a lower than the detectable concentration of the hCG hormone. If it comes back negative, likely, your symptoms are not linked to the pregnancy.

Laboratory testing

The study of urine can be performed in a clinical laboratory from the first week of conception. On the other hand, your gynecologist will recommend a blood test to confirm the pregnancy.

The test is simple and quick and, like the urine test, it consists of detecting the presence of the hormone hCG.

Ultrasonography

Another very reliable method is ultrasound, which can detect the embryo between the fifth and seventh week after the date of your last menstruation. Ultrasonography will also be useful in monitoring pregnancy and to determine more precisely the stage you are in.